On March 8th women from around the globe come together to empower each other. This year the theme of IWD is “Leave no woman behind” which examines the vital role that women play in humanitarian and disaster planning and response.

Women’s knowledge and expertise as leaders, planning for and responding to disasters and conflict can help protect and empower women and girls so that they can survive and thrive.

We can’t deny that there has been a huge shift lately in the empowerment of women, from campaigns like the #MeToo movement which gained notoriety off the back of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and in turn a huge following with the push of some of Hollywood’s biggest female names who wore black to events and opened the conversation around sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood. We have also seen a huge rise lately in the push for equality in regards to narrowing the gender pay gap and of course the uprising that we all recently witnessed which was equality for the LGBTI community (Amen).

For anyone who follows my social media accounts or has followed my journey you would know that I am all about #GIRLPOWER, after leaving Big Brother and being bullied online by women I decided to start to campaign to change the way women perceived each other and themselves, I have attended numerous events, written multitudes of blogs and told my story countless time to try and empower not only my followers but the women around me.

You see, growing up I didn’t have my Mum around much so I was forced to try and find other strong female figures in my life that I could learn from, they came in the form of older female friends, my step mother, female sporting stars that I admired and my friends’ mums who would shower me with love as soon as I walked through the doors of their homes, feeding and fussing over me as if I was their own; you know who you are, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I wouldn’t be half the woman I am today without their love, guidance and support so I guess it makes sense more than ever why I take this women’s liberation path very seriously.

I believe that somewhere during our upbringings (probably in early teens) we begin to see other woman as competition. Competition for boys, competition for better grades, competition at sporting matches and unfortunately this taints our reality of seeing women-kind as our sisters rather than our opposition in this crazy ride we call life.

Boys pit us against each other for their affection, parents ask us why we can’t be more like our (better performing, quieter) sister and we (who are in most cases our own worst enemies) haven’t been taught how to love ourselves; scars, weirdness, frizzy hair, big hips and all. If we aren’t taught the importance of self-love, to respect for our bodies and the strength that comes from using the word NO then how can we possibly change the world and one day teach our daughters these valuable lessons.

That’s why in this day and age it is imperative that we get it right, that we no longer dim our own lights which shines bright in each and every one of us in a society that demands that we should act and look a certain way to fit into the “female mold”. Each of us is made individually as god intended with the strength of a thousand men within us, we just have to look inside and find our own inner strength. The strength that stops us starting rumors about other women, the strength that ensures we speak up when we are done wrong, the strength that makes us philosophers, writers, entrepreneurs and the bosses of our lives.

Each day you should get up, look in the mirror and applaud yourself for the amazing women you are. Each day you should take the time to do something nice for yourself. Each day you should complement another woman or smile at your fellow girl gang as you pass them in the street, because finally we are being heard, we are building an army of strong, powerful, and intelligent women who will one day change the world.

I found this poem by Nakita Gil which I absolutely love and I thought I would share it with you for a little motivation next time you are feeling defeated or a little flat about the hand you’ve been dealt and it goes like this; “Teach your daughters their battle cries are needed far more than their silence and hear them deafen the world with their fearlessness”